Control of fans, blowers, and pumps



T. B. COLLINS Filed June 14, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 //v Ven ral? ca/znkFeb. 19, 1935.

CONTROL OF FANS, BLOWERS, AND PUMPS I imr..- ,9... W...

Feb. 19, 1935. COLLINS 1,991,660

CONTROL OF FANS, BLOWERS, AND PUMPS Filed June 14, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2nvre/v TJR Feb. 19, 1935. "r. B. COLLINS 1,991,660

CONTROL OF FANS, BLOWERS, AND PUMPS Filed June 14, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 3pv rewa i 19, 1935. T. B. COLLINS I$991,660

CONTROL OF FANS, BLOWERS, AND PUMPS Filed June 14,1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Patented Feb. 19, 1935 UN -m.tim

7 W1,991,660 v ooN'rRoL' 0F FANS, nt'owiiiis; AND i PUMPS Thomas-BosankoCollins, Glasgow; Scotland- Application June 14, 1933, seria imtiastz InGreat Britain July'14, v

- ZCIaims. -(o1; 23o- 114 This invention relates to imp'rovechmeans ofcontrolling the volumetric output and discharge pressure of fans,blowers, pumps and the like of the centrifugal .o'rpropellertype,.by-varying' the intake, being more. particularly applicable tounits driven at a'constan'tispeed. Another form of this invention isfthesubject matter of applicants copending "application: Serial No. 675,499,filed June 12, 1933.v The; improved controlling means according to thepresent invention, are of the kindlin which a deflector provided in anentrance chamber to the casing, from which. thefluid enters the eye ofthe fan, is adapted to be adjusted'to vary the throat of the entrancechamberJin' such amanner that the delivery of the fluid into the saidcasing shall be in 'a direction tangential" to circles concentricwithzthe' axisv of. rotation of the impeller, or propeller. p 1

According to the present invention, use is made of an intake ofrectangular cross-section, termimating. in 'a substantiallyhalf-cylindrical Wall surrounding the eye of the .fancasing or the' likeat the farther end'of-theintake, and the con- J trolling means comprisetwo movable hingedplates, provided inthe'said'intzike; of which oneplate is adapted to be moved along the said halfcylindrical wall at thevfarther end of the intake and be brought around the remainder of the eyeof the fan casing or the like, thereby closing more or less the throatof the intake while the other plate, which may be flat, curved, orpartly fiat and partly curved, is adapted to be displaced during thesaid movement within the intake and form a nozzle of smaller or greaterconvergence.

The invention also consists in the particular Figs. 3 and 4 are similarviews of 'a modified form of construction applied to a double inlet fanof which only one-side is shown.

Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views of a further more particularly de-.

modification embodied in ,a.single.inlet pump and V J V.

5 Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a sectional elevation and a plan view,partly in section, of a still further modification applied'to a doubleinletpump. v, Referring to the construction of singleinlet fanillustrated in Figures l and 2],]a is an entrance chamber or intakechannel of rectangular crosssection, terminating ina; substantiallyhalf-cylindrical wall-b which is preferably concentric with the eye 0provided in the Ian casing d and with the axis offthe-impellerprovidedin the casing vd. 'Ihe longitudinal axis of theintake channel a Eat right; anglesto the axis of rotation of :theimpeller, and thusparallel to. the plane of theimpellerdiscm The-meansIor' controlling. the inflow mainly consists-of; two hinged portions,the one com prising-in this instance, ;a fiat rectangular plate e andthe other one a number of short plates I linked together and formingasubstantially cylindrical wall in continuation of the wall 22 andconcentric with the-axis of the impeller. The width'oi thehingedportions e and f is equal to the, .width of the, intakev channel"a measured at right angles to the plane of the disc of the impeller,the free end e of the plate e being provided at the sides with rollers eguided along rails g attached to the inner side walls of the instead ofguiding the interlinked plates 1 along a cylindrical path, they may becaused to follow an involute to the cylindrical portion b of the intakechannel.

The means for controlling the movable plates may consist of ascrew-threaded rod i pivotally 4 attached to the plate e, and operatedby a handwheel 7'. As can be seen from the drawings, the plate e forms aconvergent nozzle with three of the walls of the intake channel, and theinterlinked platesf on a substantially cylindrical inr let casing facingthe eye of the fan and communicating with the said converging nozzle bya throat, the size of which is varied by the displacement of the plates.It will also be seen that by this construction the fluid stream flowstanin the intake channel a, with their axes parallel to the axis of theimpeller, the said deflectors being capable of being adjusted by meansprovided outside the intake channel, for instance,

counter-weights]. The deflectors may be adapt,.

ed to be operated separately or simultaneously and be fixed in'theadjusted positions,

When the intake channel apperates at maximum opening, the plate 6 liesalong the lowest side of the channel, shown in the drawings, while theportion of interlinked plates f 'lies along and within the curved wall1;, the separate deflectors 7c beingthen so placed as to ensure astream-line flow to the eye of the impeller.

m is a hinged' plate which rests against the plate e automaticallyfollowing its up and down displacement and. covering its end part irre'spective of the position assumed by the said platee within the intakechannel.

In the modification of double inlet fan illustrated in-Figures 3 and 4,the movable plate e is hinged to a half-cylindrical plate I preferablyhaving astraight end portion I intended to move along the wall b of theintake channel a. The operation isefiected by means of "a toothedsegment 'nattached'to the half-cylindrical plate 1 and engaging with 'apinion o operatedfrom'the'outside by a hand-wheel p.

In the modification of single-:inlet pump illustrated in Figures 5 and6, thehalf-cylindrical plate ,f hinged to the flat plate e is attachedto a sectorial frame q which" can be operated by an external handle 1',the axis of which coincides with theaxis of the impeller;

In the modification of double inlet pump illustrated in Figures 7 and 8,an intake channel a is associated with an inletcasing onboth sides ofthe pump casing d andthehalf-cylindrical plate I is shown as beingoperated by a toothed I segment 11. and pinion o, as in the constructionof fan shown in Figures 3 and 4, but the plate e is curved, instead ofbeing flat. The two pinions 0 associated with the respective toothedsegments n are mounted on short stub shafts :1,

which are turned from a common spindle u by means of a hand-wheel t,through the intermediary of well-known bevel gear transmission, it beingunderstood that the said hand-wheel may be replaced by an electric motorwhich may be controlled from a distance.

- The invention hereinbefore described may also be applied toconstructions of fans, pumps, or the like, in which one central intakeis provided appended claims.

WhatIclaim is:--

1. Means for controlling the volumetric output-L and discharge pressureof a fluid machine have ing an eye, comprising a single intake ofrectangular cross section incombination with a cylindrical inlet-casingsurrounding and concentric with the eye of the machine, half of saidcylindrical casing consisting of.a stationary part terminating saidintake, the other half of the casingib eing longer than the diameter ofthe latter and adapted to move along the stationary part and form athroat of variable size in said cylindrical casing for the admission'offiuid, and

a plate lying in" said intake outside the inlet I casing and hinged tothetmovable part jotsaid casing adjacent the throat, and means formoving said movable partof the casing. r

2. Means as claimed in claim LcharacteriZed'f in that said means formoving the movable part of the inlet casing and the plate hinged theretocomprises a sectorial frame attachedto the mov-' able part of 'the inletcasing and an external handle for operating said frame,'the axis oi. the

handle coinciding with the axis of said machinel THOMAS BOSANKOCOLLINS.'

